Azath-Xasthur, the Pale Star
I mean you no harm. I am your friend. Come join me, come and play with me in paradise. -Azath-Xasthur Fighting the Titans Your order will fall into chaos. You are nothing but vermin to us." -Azath-Xasthur, to Arkodukh In the middle of the war with the Old Gods on Azeroth, the young but very courageous titan warrior Arkodukh was tasked to deliver the newly-forged greatsword Gorshalach from Khaz'Goroth's forges to his master Sargeras, Champion of the Pantheon, at the frontlines at Azeroth. Arkodukh accepted the task, and hurried through the Nether towards his goal, when suddenly, he encountered one of the mightiest of the Old Gods, preparing to launch a devastating ambush on the Pantheon from behind: the unspeakable Azath-Xasthur, The Great Corruptor. Always eager to prove his worth, the titanic fighter acted completely against titan regulations and drew forth his precious cargo and charged the aberration. His foe was thousands upon thousands of times more powerful than Arkodukh, but the sword was created to be the most powerful weapon in the universe, especially powerful against Old Gods and their kin, so he managed to keep up an even game with Azath-Xasthur. Finally, after quite a long time (even cosmically speaking), the now critically wounded titan saw his chance to win: a cloud of volatile astral matter floating past the scene of the battle. Arkodukh unleashed Gorshalach in a wide sweep, then performed a powerful thrust to make the Old God move backwards, and be engulfed by the astral cloud. With his foe being consumed by star-fire, Arkodukh hurried towards the front, already much delayed. When he reached it, however, he found a gruesome sight indeed: several titans dead, and Sargeras wounded. The other titans did not blame him for what had happened, instead choosing to celebrate him, for with Azath-Xasthur gone, the tide of war turned into the favor of the Pantheon not long after. Still, Arkodukh felt very guilty about how he had acted, and went into self-induced exile on the remote ice world of Kaviv. Rise of the Pale Star We are the Confederacy of the Pale Star, and we will never surrender! We are immortal!" -Cizëmnaczhi, War Archon of the Pale Star After having incinerated Azath-Xasthur, the cloud of astral matter formed into a star, as was its purpose. This star, however, would come to shine with a pale, whitish light. In time, planets formed around the star, and a race of humanoids evolved on the planets. Their precise physical appearance of these humanoids has been lost to time, but it is said that they were related to and resmbled the eredar, whose homeworld of Argus was situated not far (cosmically speaking) from these planets. As civilization evolved, the inhabitants of the planets became aware of each other, and discovered, to their surprise, that their cultures shared many aspects, including the name for their sun: the Pale Star, or, as they all knew it as, despite differences in language: Azath-Xasthur. Not before long, the people of the planets (their name(s) are also lost) united into one major, highly advanced faction: the Confederacy of the Pale Star. They developed fantastic technologies, and soon had either conquered or allied with several other planetary factions in the cosmic vicinity. The name "Pale Star" became equal with great power. One of the Confederacy's greatest leaders was Cizëmnaczhi ("see-same-nak-chi"), a mighty warrior who had led many battles in the name of the Pale Star, and emerged victorious from a vast majority of them. He eventually ascended to the rank of War Archon, the highest military position within the Pale Star Confederacy, and it was he who was in command when the Time of Crisis struck. Rebirth of Evil You... are suffering. -Common nightmare It began as unusual nightmares, randomly distributed amonst those who lived in the Pale Star system. The nightmares increased in frequency and victims, and soon it was clear that this was not a normal phenomenon. The symptoms started include headaches during day that later grew into continuous mental disturbances, leading to severe waves of irrational behaviour. Suddenly, all contact was broken between the Confederacy home system and the rest of the dominion, a strange interstellar cloud blocking the space surrounding the Pale Star. A minor crisis erupted due to this, but the political climate soon returned to a more normal state, mostly due to the peculiar chain of command within the Pale Star Confederacy, and the leadership of the War Archon. After a full year (Confederacy Standard Year, equal to approximately 6,6 Azeroth years), many members of the now-spread out Pale Star Confederacy (but only those who originated in the Pale Star system) began to receive dreamlike visions, urging them to return to their homeworlds. While most ignored this, the visions soon turned into direct mental control, and before long, thousands of ships ventured back through the blocking cloud to what they had known as their home. But that home had changed. The structure of the planets was now alien, random, as if it had been designed by some mad architect, and its inhabitants had been mutated into freakish, abominable forms. Perhaps worst of all, a dread influence seemed to emanate from the Pale Star. Azath-Xasthur had risen anew. He had now become the Pale Star itself, a fiendish intelligence, and with an army to back it up. And the army would have its commander, as the corrupted titan Arkodukh rushed to his new master's side, compelled by a mental seed planted in that cataclysmic battle long ago, to turn into the aberrant overlord of the Old God's legions. The universe would once again fear the name Azath-Xasthur. Celestial Journey I have once again risen, I am reborn, and nothing will stand in my path. My flames will devour all, and my empire will last forever." -Azath-Xasthur The Pale Star is constantly moving through the Nether, and is currently moving towards Azeroth, the prison of its kin. The world will be corrupted, just like countless others before it, and then utterly destroyed, its remains absorbed into the Membrane, an other-dimensional layer surrounding the Pale Star, made of aberrant matter, invisible in the "real" dimension, but still home to the servitors of the Old God. Only Azath-Xasthur and its minions know how to traverse the dimensions to reach it. The Pawns of the Pale Star My devoted are many. I suggest you join them. -Azath-Xasthur As would be expected, Azath-Xasthur has a multitude of beings to serve it. The Corrupted The bulk of Azath-Xasthur's forces consists of a great variety of corrupted, mutated mortal beings, ranging from lowly beasts and semi-lowly humanoids to mighty dragons and even a few divinities, such as the Chaos Titan Arkodukh and the Chaos Naaru Overminds. Warped flesh, bizarre anatomy, and tentacles are usual aspects of the corrupted. Cult of the Pale Star Like any self-respecting supernatural dark lord capable of devouring planets, Azath-Xasthur gathers a following of mortal cultists on its target worlds. These cultists then spread the first seeds of discord and madness, so the world is "prepared" for the arrival of the Pale Star. Old Gods In fact, some minor Old Gods thrive in the precense of the Pale Star, including Qtqzghtazahar the Eternal Maw and Htaxayq'a'haqaxz the Slime-Lord. The Old God Xasmaloth Zvytrmar, a spawn of Azath-Xasthur from before he became the Pale Star, resides on Gü'nihil in the Nihil System, waiting for its "father" to bring it with it when it passes by. Pale Orb A pale orb appears as a huge, lustrous pearl, about as tall as two average humans. It uses magical energies to fly across space, and its primary purpose is to abduct individuals suitable for corruption. When it has spotted a target, it unleashes a beam that captures it and stores it inside the orb until it is once again released back in the Membrane, ready to be corrupted. A Pale Orb can hold up to ten living beings at one time, size does not matter. Pale Orbs are constructed by Azath-Xasthur's sheer force of mind. Pale Overseer A Pale Overseer is an aberrant indiviudal tasked to watch over mortal affairs by Azath-Xasthur. They are not corrupted beings, but rather extensions of Azath-Xasthur's will. An Overseer appears as a tall humanoid dressed in concealing robes, with a mask (simple or otherwise) covering the "face". In reality, the "body" of the overseer is nothing but a humanoid-shaped mass of fleshy matter, and the head consists of something that can best be described as a miniature Pale Star, which serves as the "mind" of the being. Pale Overseers are beings of great power, capable of matching the spellcraft of many powerful magi. Their powers are mostly mental in nature, although they can also unleash powerful beams of energy. Traditional Old God Servants Of course, Azath-Xasthur has a number of the traditional minions of his kind under his control, as well, including elementals, revenants, qiraji, and oozes (oozes in particular are plentiful). Waqurr, Elemental Lord of Ooze, a being that can only be described as a fusion between a water elemental and an ooze, commands the slimy population of the Membrane. Personal Power I grow tired of you. If you surrender now, I promise you a quick death, at least for your physical self. Whatever happens, your soul is mine to play with.' -Azath-Xasthur After becoming the Pale Star, Azath-Xasthur has, in fact, even more power than ever, rending him one of the most powerful entities in the universe, except for possibly some of the mysterious overlords of the Old Gods, who are better left unmentioned. Should his corruptive and military might fail, Azath-Xasthur will unleash a barrage of unhallowed starfire, and that's just to begin with. In short, it would take a mighty powerful force to even attempt to harm the Pale Star. If he reaches Azeroth, not even the planet's famous adventurers bonded together into twenty-five man groups can even hope to damage Azath-Xasthur. Image:War Archon Propaganda.png Image:Soldiers of the Pale Star.png Category:Articles by WoWWiki-Xavius Category:Old Gods Category:Characters Category:Heavenly bodies